Familial Bonds
by reithedragonboy
Summary: Back at Tantalus after an unsuccessful search for his hometown, Zidane reflects on how his life arrived at the point it's at. He doesn't like to brood over the past, but he doesn't have much choice now that he's recovering from the "loving" welcome Baku gave him. That and his troupe family seem willing to reflect with him and remember when it was he won a place in their hearts.
1. Prologue

Hello everybody! Here's a new story for this site. I've noticed that I never really created a lot of new stories this year, although I have been updating a lot of old and unfortunately neglected ones. I decided it was time to change that and post what would most likely be the last new story for the year. **However, I suggest that you read this particular author's note just so I can clear up a couple of key things.**

To be perfectly honest with you all, this story is nothing more than a recreation of one that has since been deleted from this wonderful site. I've spent the past few days looking through all the stories published under solely the Final Fantasy IX category but never found it. All I found were old stories that I liked all those years ago and immediately put them under my favorites. As such, I've brought it upon myself to revive that now lost story and put it back on here.

Despite having read it over seven years ago, I still remember all the details as if they were yesterday. Yes, the story was that good where it actually held a special spot in my heart. That's why I feel it right to do it justice and recreate it. Most details from the original will be the same, although they will be changed somewhat to fit both my style and the situation I've created.

I suppose then you could say I'm doing a half-recreation, half-parody of the story. And since it's no longer on here, it can't really be considered as the taboo act of copying anymore. I only wish I remembered who the author of the original was so I could credit him, or her, or it. But since they've most likely already moved on from this site after having been on for so long, I'll probably never have the official chance. Oh well, not much I can do about that. So if there are any of you who remembered reading a story very similar to this, you now know the reason why.

But yeah, I felt it important to mention all that since this really isn't originally an original story of mine. At the same time, I'm not pirating this story as being solely mine as the original has been removed for whatever reason. All I'm doing is paying homage to the original and recreating it while putting my own flair to it. I hope you all can understand that and appreciate my efforts of bringing back what I felt was a great story.

Now we have all that out of the way, I'll go ahead and leave you all alone so you can read this "new" story. Please don't forget to leave a review when you're done reading. It really helps to motivate me and see how you as a reader are enjoying my new story. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories on this site everybody!

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**Prologue**

"You'll be the bane of my life so long as you stay on Terra," a man growled as he set a small bag down on the dew-covered grass. Some had started to turn into frost due to the chilly bite that hung in the air. "Scratch that; you already serve me enough trouble by merely existing in this life. To think that someone like you would actually grow into the one who holds in his hands that capability of ruining my plans. I'll do whatever is needed of me to erase any threats to my future endeavors."

It was currently nighttime; the brisk evening wind had rustled a few loose leaves from a nearby oak tree and allowed them to flutter helplessly to the ground. Their wonderfully bright colors were indicative of the autumn season that still dominated the land. The cold bite in the wind along with dark clouds that obscured the stars above was further indication that winter was following close behind.

"Don't get me wrong; I know you never asked to be brought into this life," the man said as he looked up at the nearly leafless tree, his long silvery hair being tousled around by the breeze. "Were circumstances different, I probably would've considered letting you play a role in my carefully crafted play. Unfortunately, the only way you can play out your intended role is through the whims of a power-hungry man who's afraid of anything that threatens to overthrow his strength. In the end, I suppose you could say I'm granting you mercy from being forced to trade a life of freedom to become nothing more than a mere tool. Even the most abhorrent of criminals would scoff at the thought of being controlled."

Almost as if in response, the bag suddenly started to move around a bit. Were it not for the knot tied on the opening, whatever was inside probably would have become exposed to the chilly night air.

"I know you can understand everything I'm saying. You could probably even repeat it all without any trouble. Still, you're too young to really understand the meaning behind most of my words. I'm willing to bet you don't even know why I'm doing all this in the first place. It's not like it matters since your mind is still at the point where memories have yet to root themselves into your head. By the time that happens, you'll most likely be in front of death's door asking to for shelter from the unrelenting winds and snow. You'd probably be happy that you have no precious memories tying you to life since passed.

"But don't think of it as me simply leaving you out here alone to die," the man murmured as he knelt down next to the bag and began to untie the knot. "I'll admit that's what I'm doing, but me killing you with my own hands would leave a bad taste in my mouth. That and I don't believe in killing someone who has yet to do wrong by me. I suppose then you could consider my act of abandonment as my second form of mercy unto you."

With the knot undone, he allowed the bag to fall away and reveal a rather young child with short but wild blond hair. He was garbed in a simple shirt and pants and a rather thin brown cloak that seemed more like something one would wear in a summer evening. From behind the cloak peered a small blond tail that swished around in annoyance at what was happening. He whined a bit in protest as he felt the wind hit his body, but it was quickly muted when the man picked him up into his warm arms.

"You don't need to fuss over the feel of the winter breeze," he soothed with a wry smile approaching his lips as he slowly made his way towards the tree. "After all, it's going to be your only companion as you struggle to survive on your own. Oh, I should also probably mention all the monsters that you might cross paths with, but I doubt any of them would be desperate enough to consider making your small form into a meal. I suppose that's life's way of showing mercy during your unfortunately short life.

"Now allow yourself to be shrouded in sleep," he said in a poetic fashion while slowly waving his free hand over the little boy's face. As he did this, wisps of colorful smoke appeared and began enveloping the child's face. "Depart unto the land of dreams where you'll find solace in your wildest of imaginations. You shall only awake when your mind is ready to understand what memories are and can create its own. Be blessed with protection against all that can bring harm upon you as you sleep, from the elements to monsters and hunger to sickness. It's only when you awaken that you shall know true suffering and soon succumb to the bliss that is known as eternal slumber."

No sooner after he finished his poetic speech did the boy fall into a deep sleep. His breaths were now even, his body no longer seeming to mind the biting wind that continued to blow its relentless chilly force. His tail hung limply in the air as if it were merely a toy that was held tightly in his tiny little hands, moving only when the wind struck it just right. He did not even stir when he was softly placed against the trunk of the tree and away from the only source of warmth for miles around.

"The time has come for us to say farewell," the man whispered if only to fit his persona in with the current situation. "The little prince must sleep so that he may awake refreshed and ready to try and defy what fate already has in store for him. I only hope that it will be kind enough to impart to you a swift and painless death when the time comes. But before I go, allow me to grant you the privilege of having an identity."

With an effortless wave of his hand, more colorful wisps of smoke began making its way to the sleeping child. It actually hung in the air for a moment and spelled out the word "Zidane" before enveloping the boy's face and disappearing.

"It's the name you were to be bequeathed before I stole you away. I feel it only right to allow you knowledge of what was meant to be yours from the beginning. Remember it well for it shall be the only thing you'll own apart from the clothes on your back."

Without saying another word, a flash of blue light suddenly appeared behind the man. With one last wry smile, he took a step back into the blinding light and allowed himself to be engulfed by it. When it finally dissipated, the man had completely disappeared. The only thing left in that dew-covered clearing was the tree fluttering its remaining leaves against the wind and a little boy who slept soundly under its bare branches.

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I hope you all liked the start to this new story. As it's just a prologue, I don't see any reason for it to be any longer than it was. So sorry to all of you who like long chapters or are used to me producing long yet well written chapters. I promise you all, though, that the next chapters will be longer than this.

And for those of you wondering, the man I was describing was Kuja. I just felt it was appropriate to not directly mention him by name as he doesn't play much of a physical role after this point. Because of that, I figured I would try to give him a rather theatrical persona as that's how he tends to act in the game itself. Even in this story, he's still trying to make himself sound like the center of attention. That and you guys as readers wouldn't normally know who the person was were you not familiar with what the world of Final Fantasy IX is. And if you really weren't familiar with the world until reading this, now you know who the person is.

And just as a little side note, the original story never had a prologue chapter. I just felt like putting it in so that it could serve as a foundation of how the beginning portions of the story will play out.

Until the next update to this or any of my other stories already on this site everybody!


	2. Home is Where the Love is

Hello everybody! Here's a new chapter for this story. I decided to section off each chapter into two parts; one in present time and the other from the past. In some form or another, the flashback is going to correspond to some aspect of the current moment that the chapter is in. The reason I'm doing this is because the original had the same structure, although I remember it being more of a mess and hard to understand when the transitions happened. Now that I have a chance to revive and revise the story, I felt it right to keep the same format and simply tweak it up a bit.

And the reason I'm right now taking a keen interest in this story is because of the sense of family that's behind it. What with it being close to Christmas and all, I felt it appropriate to be working on it now. After all, it is about how Zidane first met the Tantalus crew and how he became one of them. What better way to ring in the holidays than a story about how this ragtag family came together?

Also, sorry for those of you who feel that the title to this chapter is a bit too cheesy. I admit that it is, but I couldn't find any other words that described what this chapter is about. Once you read it, I'm sure you'll agree that the title is appropriate no matter how cheesy it may end up sounding. I'm sure you'll all like it, or at least I hope you do! And I know that the original is "Home is where the heart is", but I felt like changing it just a little bit.

That's it with my rants now. I'll let you all read the new chapter. Please don't forget to leave a review before you move onto the next story you want to read. They are helpful both in keeping me motivated and in any suggestions or corrections that you might have to offer. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories on here!

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**Chapter 1: Home is Where the Love is**

"…Well, look who's finally decided to wake up from his beauty sleep!" someone loudly announced, his boisterous voice easily echoing throughout the room. It was filled with lots of working gears and a large power box that all looked to be parts of a clock tower. "I'm telling you; being away from us has really soften you up where you can't even handle a little bit of tough love from me!"

With a slight twitch of his tail, a young blond-haired teen lying on the wooden floor was slowly starting to stir. He immediately groaned in pain before opening his eyes and noticing his surroundings. He felt something mercilessly poking at his back, but he was too sore to bother moving to another position much less get rid of the offending object. He brought one of his hands to his right cheek which felt hot and swollen, but he quickly flinched away when he felt a twinge of pain on his arm.

"B-Baku…," the teen moaned before slowly propping himself on his elbows. Those appeared to be the only part of his body that did not ache in some way, yet even the act of keeping himself stable proved painful. "What did you do to me? It feels like I've been put through hell and back…!"

"I didn't do much apart from giving you my wonderful welcome home treatment," Baku laughed as he fiddled with something in his hands. The volume of his loud voice was starting to give the other a headache. "You just don't seem to be man enough to handle it. I can't believe how much your time away from us has softened you up! And how many times have I told you to call me 'boss'?

"Now hurry up and take this before you start whining my ear off about the pain!" he said before tossing what was in his hands towards the bruised teen. "If you're thinking of calling the Tantalus Troupe as your home again, then I'm not going to have you acting like some baby while you're under this roof."

The teen winced when he caught the glass bottle filled with emerald green liquid as his arm was being forced through pain just to catch something. After staring at it for a few seconds, he opened it and tipped the contents down his throat. He made a small grimace when the bitter taste lingered on his tongue, but he tried his best to hide it. He knew that Baku would tease him about it later if he caught it. Unfortunately, it did not look like he did a good job hiding it as the man started laughing again.

"Is it true, boss?_!_" another voice suddenly cut through the laughter and was followed by the sound of frantic steps. Turning their attention towards the only entrance, both saw two teens standing in the doorway. One of them had a masculine build and was wearing a faded worn bandana. The other was more slender and had amazingly strong ruby red hair held up by a brown headband that almost covered his eyes. "The Nero Bros told us they saw Zidane in the Residential District. Is he really back?"

"Why don't you take a good look for yourself before asking me dumb questions, Blank?" Baku responded before getting up from his seat and letting out a strong sneeze. "And I'd like to know how you heard from those three blockheads when they're supposed to be headed off for Burmecia right now, but I'll take care of that later. If neither you nor Marcus have anything better to do, then make yourselves useful and get this kid back to his proper self. He couldn't even handle the welcoming party I threw him!"

"Blank…, Marcus…," Zidane greeted the two with a smile before putting the bottle down on the floor. "It's good to see you guys again." Before he could say anything else, the big man picked up the discarded bottle and shoved another one into the blonde's hands. "But I already took the potion you gave me, boss!"

"One more ain't gonna hurt you," Baku laughed before letting out another loud sneeze that actually shook the foundation a bit. Marcus and Blank had since made their way towards the blond and began guiding him towards a nearby bed. "This ain't like one of those newfangled pills they got out in the market that can kill you if you take too much. The worst having more would do is probably make you relaxed or something. Just be happy I bought the flavored ones so as to save you from the bitter originals!"

"Didn't you only choose to get them because you're the one who complained about how bad the original formulas tasted?" the red head softly murmured so as to not be heard. He then said in a normal tone, "Come on, buddy; let's get you on the bed so we can start taking care of your wounds. We need to see what injuries you got during your travels and what came while you were enduring the boss's 'welcome home' treatment."

"I'm willing to bet all those bruises came from him coming back," the bandana teen stated with a hint of amusement in his voice. "With how good Zidane is at fighting, I doubt monsters or muggers would've been able to do this much damage to him. Of course, that's considering he didn't spontaneously decide to let his guard down. And I'm sure he allowed himself to take whatever beating Boss gave him. I doubt he'd be alive right now if he was actually stupid enough to fight back!"

"…You know I'm still here, Marcus," the blond murmured after downing the second potion that Baku had passed him. "You could've waited until I'm knocked out before you start poking fun at me."

"But then it wouldn't be as much fun teasing you about it," Marcus countered with a light chuckle leaving his throat. "Now stop complaining and let us look you over so we can see what needs to be taken care of."

While Marcus and Blank made small talk and tended to the Zidane's wounds, the large man walked over to the front door and stared at the bustle going on in front of the theater nearby. He then said in an amused undertone so as to not be heard, "I swear; you look as pitiful as the day when we first met. I still can't believe how you were able to last as long as you did before we ran into you. I don't think I'll ever forget how you managed to so easily wiggle your way into our hearts."

-_Seven Years Ago, Nolrich Heights_-

It was another bitterly cold winter day. The snow had fallen continuously since morning and had gotten worse since. Whatever bits of sunlight that managed to peek through the thick clouds did little to counter the biting winds. It had yet to become terribly stormy, but these kinds of conditions could easily change at the drop of a hat.

And in the middle of this budding snowstorm was a little boy ill-dressed for the wintry conditions. His pants were a bit too short and exposed his ankles; his shoes were so worn that they did not look like they would survive the harsh weather; and the thin cloak hardly looked like it was enough to trap even the minutest amount of body heat. Yet despite these ratty clothes and harsh conditions, he continued to walk through the ankle-high snow in search for a place where he could call shelter.

"What're you doin' out here on your own, little fella?" a man's voice suddenly called out. Ears perking up at the sound, the boy looked towards his left and saw someone dressed in warm clothing walking towards him with a sack over his shoulder. "You shouldn't be tryin' to make your way through this. I hear it'll turn into one doozy of a storm soon."

"I-I'm lost," the boy stuttered, his childish voice stuttering a bit from the cold as he stared at the man now standing in front of him. "I'm t-trying to look for a p-place to stay, but I d-don't know the area well."

"How could people be so irresponsible during a time like this?" the man murmured with a disappointed click of his tongue. "Not only is this supposed to be one of the worst winters for this region; there's also the strict food rationing going on due to the poor harvest!" He then put down his sack and knelt down to the boy's level. "Well, I'm sure we'll be able to figure out what to do. It shouldn't be too hard to find you somewhere warm to weather out this storm. Could you tell me your name so I can see if I recognize it?"

"Zidane," the boy merely replied before letting out a shiver.

"Hmm, can't say that rings any bells," the man muttered before digging into his sack and taking out a cloak made from thick leather. "Why don't you go ahead and put that on? That old one you got on looks like its seen better days. How 'bout you come with me to Dali and we'll see if anybody there knows you?"

"Th-thank you!" Zidane happily thanked as he shrugged off his old cloak and began to put on the warmer one. As he did this, his blond tail became exposed to the winds before being covered under the new cloak.

"Wh-What was that?_!_" the man exclaimed, his expression shocked as though he just saw something scary. "What's that you're hidin' back there?"

"I-It's only my tail," the blond hesitantly admitted before bringing his tail around to his stomach without it ever leaving the cloak. "I wasn't trying to hide it. It's something that I was born with. Is there something wrong with it?"

"Of course there's something wrong about it!" The man's demeanor had completely changed from nice to belligerent. "That thing you call a tail isn't something that should exist! The only people who have those things are the Burmecians, but that's only because they're nothing more than a bunch of overgrown rats. What you have there is something no human in this world should ever have!"

With that said, the man quickly stood up and shouldered his sack once more. He then quickly walked away and left a confused Zidane behind.

"It's no wonder why his parents decided to let 'im out on his own in this blizzard," the boy heard him murmur as he continued to walk further away. "I'd do the same thing if I were in their shoes. No person in their right mind would ever be able to live down the fact that their child is a freak of nature!"

"…Why does everybody leave when they see I have a tail?" he sadly asked as he began fidgeting with the tip of his tail. "No one wants to help me once they see it. Is it because they think I'm some kind of freak? …Am I really a freak?"

With a small shake of his head, Zidane let go of his tail and hugged his new cloak tighter around him. Apparently, the man was nowhere interested in wanting the piece of clothing back as he had quickly disappeared from sight. It definitely proved to be a lot warmer than the old ratty cloak he had been wearing, but it did not offset the coldness he had to endure when the one who gave it turned harsh and walked away.

As the blond continued on his way to search for a warm place to stay, he began to think about how similar his encounters with people were. He could not understand why everybody decided to keep away from him the moment they noticed he had a tail. Some had even went so far as to ask for whatever they had handed him back before leaving. In the end, he considered himself lucky that this was not the case.

"…Stupid cold!" he heard someone, voice akin to a child's, complain from a distance. "Why do we have to go on a mission in this snowstorm?"

"It's 'cause we promised Cid that we'd get back what was stolen from him!" a loud voice explained, the tone easily carried through the wind. "It wouldn't look good on us if we flat-out refused. He'd probably think we're a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings!"

"I don't think refusing to go because of bad blizzard conditions would make us look lazy," another young but slightly deeper voice deadpanned. "Nobody in their right mind would risk getting lost out here and freeze to death. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually thought us suicidal for choosing to help him out now of all times!"

"Everything we do in life is suicidal, Marcus," the loud voice stated. "You never know when you might end up with a sword in your back!"

"I'd say it comes with the job, but I think you wanted to rush this one because the regent is your longtime friend," the first voice said. "I still don't know how you two were able to become… Hey, there's someone over there!"

By this time, a group of four people had come within Zidane's line of sight. Three of them looked like they were children ranging from pre to early teens. None of them looked alike in anyway; each of their appearances was unique in some way or another. One had hair in an amazing shade of red held up by a large leather headband; another was well-built and had on a faded orange bandana; and the last appeared to be the older of the bunch with the makings of a beard beginning to form. The fourth person was clearly the adult of the group, a hulking man whose own build appeared fit for the blizzard.

"Well, what do we have here?" the big man rhetorically asked before approaching the blond. The other three followed closely behind, their eyes shining with intrigue and confusion at finding a kid alone in such conditions. "Never thought I'd see a little guy like you wandering the plains on your own. You're either really gutsy or really stupid."

"I'm willing to bet on the latter," the red head scoffed while rubbing his gloved hands. "The only people crazy enough to try and brave this storm are us and merchants desperate to make ends meet."

"Be careful with what you say, Blank. The first rule of being a good thief is to never jump to conclusions before you got all the facts. You might end up staring down the sharp side of a blade if you're uninformed.

"Now then, think you can tell me what your name is?" he asked in a fatherly tone while kneeling down to Zidane's level.

"I-It's Zidane," the boy stuttered, clearly nervous with being in the presence of someone much bigger than him.

"Hmm, that's a pretty good name. Your parents must really enjoy watching the play, '_I Want to be Your Canary_', if that's what they chose to name you. Not that I blame them since it's a top-notch play to both watch and perform!" he exclaimed with a hearty laugh. "In fact, it's the number one play that I, Baku, leader of the Tantalus Troupe, most thoroughly enjoy out of all of Lord Avon's many plays!"

"Boss, you're starting to rant again," the eldest of the children with Baku groaned as he began fiddling with a hammer that was resting on his waist. "I think the little guy could care less about what your favorite play is right now."

Instead of replying back, Baku let out a mighty sneeze that completely took the little boy off-guard. He actually fell backwards into the snow out of surprise which then caused a puff of white to rise in his wake.

"Anyway, where're your parents at?" Baku continued on with a sniffle as though he did not see nor hear that past few seconds. "You shouldn't be wandering about without them. I bet they're worried sick about you right about now."

"…I don't have any parents," the blond admitted sadly as he continued to sit in the snow, his face avoiding the big man's gaze. "At least, I think I don't have any. I've been on my own for a while now."

"You're not serious, are you?_!_" the muscly guy asked in surprise. "You don't look to be any older than seven! What people in their right mind would even consider letting a kid like you out in the wild without a second thought?"

"The economy hasn't been good this year, Marcus," Blank deadpanned. "That and the food shortage because of this early winter isn't helping either. Conditions like this are hardly ideal to keep a person fed much less a whole family. It's no surprise how some would resort to abandoning their children just to make ends meet."

"Blank's got a point there," Baku replied in agreement. "It's a sad reality, but it's times like these when parents abandon their children just so they themselves can survive. I can't say I'm happy about it, but there isn't much anybody can do.

"However, I do know what I'm going to do with little Zidane here," he added with a big smile before scooping the blond into his arms. Said boy was surprised at this and instinctively wrapped his arms around the man's neck to prevent himself from falling. "We're going to be taking him home with us."

"What?_!_" all three exclaimed at once; Zidane merely looked at the man in surprise at what he heard. Marcus then asked, "Are you sure that's a good idea, Boss? I mean, what if he wasn't really abandoned? It's possible that he's part of a group of thieves who're only using him as bait so they can attack us while our guards are down."

"I doubt that to be the case. By the time we left Dali, everybody was cooped up in either the bar or their houses. And even if he were a part of a band of thieves, this is hardly the ideal place or conditions to be pulling off a robbery. These plains are too open to be able to hide from people, and visibility is practically poor because of this blizzard. We'd a better chance at taking him and shaking off our pursuers than they would trying to keep up. Not to mention that we'd give them a sound beating if they dare try to steal from us."

"When you put it that way…," the other murmured as he wiped his bandana clear of the snow that had accumulated. "But still, what if he's from Dali? Shouldn't we at least go back and see if he belongs to anyone there?"

"We've been there for a couple of hours while the blizzard was still bearable," the red head explained, his voice reflecting his annoyance at how long the situation had gone on. "The kids were playing in the snow then. There weren't many of them to begin with, so I'm sure we would've caught wind of them asking where he went."

"Then he's clearly not from the village," Baku concluded. "In any event, we should at least take him along with us. I'm sure you guys will agree with me that leaving him out here on his own should be the last thing on our minds. And we might even run into his parents on our way home. Do you think that sounds like a good idea, Zidane?"

During the entire exchange, the young blond listened quietly as he kept his arms wrapped around Baku's neck. He was still shocked from when the man first considered taking him with them. He was not aware that tears were starting to form at the corners of his eyes.

"I'll take that as a yes then," the man smiled warmly once more. "I promise you that the four of us will take good care of you until we find your parents."

"Th-Thank you…!" he thanked as he leaned his body in for a hug. The other merely chuckled at the little boy's happiness. However, the cloak shifted around a bit from the movement and thus allowed his furry blond tail to fall out.

"Whoa, take a look at that!" the eldest suddenly exclaimed. As if on cue, everyone minus Zidane turned their attention towards the furry appendage. "The kid's got a tail! I've never seen anything like that before in my life!"

"You're right, Cinna!" Marcus agreed before approaching closer to touch it. Even Blank dropped his annoyed demeanor and replaced it with curiosity as he examined the tail from where he stood. "That definitely isn't some kind of toy or anything. It's giving off its own body heat and twitching a bit when I touch it!"

"Well, you're definitely just full of surprises!" Baku stated amusedly as he moved the boy in his arms a bit so as to keep the others from pawing at the tail. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before."

"You're not going to…stop helping me now, are you?" Zidane asked, his tone suddenly so sad that it could have probably broken even the toughest of hearts.

"Why would you think something like that?" the man asked.

"Because the other people who tried to help me walked away after they saw it."

"They did that just because you have a tail?" Cinna asked in disbelief while still looking at the furry thing. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! How can people forget the fact that you're a child and not help all because you have something other people don't?"

"What makes it worse is that there have been other people before us who ran into him and had a chance to help," the bandana teen murmured in clear disappointment. "I know that some people can be ignorant; I just never knew how bad they could be! And if his parents ended up abandoning him because of this, then that's just beyond low!"

"Then I guess that settles it. If I wasn't already sure before, then I'm sure as hell am now! This little guy's coming with us! We're going to see if we can find his parents and beat some sense into them. And if that doesn't work, then he'll just have to live with us!"

"You really mean it?_!_" the blond boy exclaimed, his happy voice more than enough to entice yet another warm smile. "I can come with you guys?"

"Of course you can! I'm not the kind of guy who would kid around about something like this. Tantalus isn't so low that we wouldn't want to help somebody who's clearly in need. And we're not so picky as to fret over the fact that you have a cute tail. Whoever does that is nothing but a clear-cut idiot!"

"…Did you really just say that his tail is 'cute', Boss?" the red haired teen asked as a small chuckle left his throat. "I never thought I'd hear you say something like that."

Right at that moment, the big man let out a loud sneeze that effectively drowned out the other's statement. He then said after sniffling a bit, "It's time we got a move on. We need to get to South Gate before this blizzard gets any worse. With any luck, we'll be able to continue on to Treno provided that the snow hasn't forced the guards to call a temporary hold on all foot travel. And if we do get there, then let's hope that the airships haven't been grounded. It'd be hell if we have to spend more out of our mission funds just to stay at an inn."

As the Tantalus crew continued on their way to their destination, they now had one extra person along with them. Zidane was still being held in Baku's arms, his warm and protective embrace more than enough to make him feel safe. And for the first time for as long as he could remember, he felt like he was wanted. He felt like he was accepted simply for who he was, tail and all. He could not help but to let a few tears escape.

The big man noticed the wetness forming on his chest but did not say anything. Instead, he merely tightened his embrace even more to assure the young boy that everything was going to be fine. He may not have looked it, but Baku definitely had a fatherly side to him when it came to helpless children. Zidane was no exception, and he would be glad to take him in as a part of the group should they not find his parents. But until then, he would be content to merely keep the boy company and safe from the monsters and bitter cold.

* * *

Well, that's it for this chapter. As you can see, Zidane has just come back to the place he's called home for seven years after a failed excursion to find his real home. That, in turn, correlates to when the Tantalus crew first ran into him during a job petitioned by Regent Cid all those years ago.

And can you believe that Baku is actually acting like a father figure and such? I know it's kind of out-of-character for him to act so soft and such, but I really believe that he loves every member of Tantalus as if they were his own children. He'd most likely die for them than to see something bad happen, so I felt it'd be good to showcase his fatherly and protective side.

The one thing I'm going to do different in this recreation is that I'm going to have each main character trigger a flashback moment that then progresses the story. It's all going to progress like a normal story; the present moment is its own arc while the flashbacks retell the full story when Zidane first became a part of their group. I hope it doesn't make it too confusing to read.

Of course, I'm not going to have the entire crew of Tantalus go down memory lane. That's why I had the Nero Bros out on a mission so that they won't be a part of the story. It'd be way too much of a headache to write down around nine flashback chapters when the original story doesn't have enough information for it to be possible. It's easier just to write them off now as having been on a mission and save myself the torture.

And for those who are wondering where the Nolrich Heights are, that's the area between Dali and South Gate. I figured it'd have been better than just calling it "the plains near Dali", especially since I knew that all the areas of FF9 had their own name. Why not incorporate it into the story since it's already a part of the canonical universe?

But yeah, that's all for this chapter and ending author's note. Nothing much else to say except that I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter. Please don't forget to leave a review before you move onto the next story that you want to read. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories!


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